A New Look + My Current Favourite Kale

Hello everyone, and welcome to the new SCM site! I hope you like it! It’s my hope that it makes it much easier for you to register for classes and guest events (!!!). Speaking of guest events… you might notice a gorgeous smiling red head over there to the right… Yes, that is CHRISTINA PIRELLO AND SHE’S COMING TO TORONTO TO TEACH!!!! Seriously, this is RIDICULOUSLY AMAZINGLY EXCITING!!! Registration is OPEN! See you all there.

In January, Hubs and I really felt the need to lighten things up in our diet. It’s interesting, as normally at this time of year I crave warming, hearty dishes. But for some reason, for the past few weeks we can’t get enough kale and collards. The lacinato kale (you might see it called dinosaur kale, or black kale in your store) has been especially enticing, and so I wanted to share with you my current favourite way to eat it.

First you’ll need to toast up a big batch of pumpkin seeds or sunflower seeds to make up a giant batch of this. Toast lots so you can have a few handfuls to reserve. In addition to the nice crunch they bring to this dish, seeds make an excellent topper for morning porridges, cooked greens or even served atop your lunch or dinner grain dish. While the seeds are cooling, you can prep the kale. Wash the leaves carefully then remove them from the stems. Slice the stems into small bits until you get almost to the bottom- if you look carefully you can see quite clearly where the stems start to turn woody and dry. Cut up to there, then discard the dry bits.

Okay, so you might have to wait a little longer for the seeds to cool than the time it took to wash the kale…. I wasn’t kidding when I said this was super easy. Time to sit back and watch an episode of Buffy (we just started watching the series from the very beginning- so fun!!). By now the seeds should be cool to touch. Blitz them up and make the dressing. Bring about an inch or so of water to boil. Add the chopped stems and simmer for about 30 seconds to a minute. Add in the kale leaves and sauté in the water for about another minute. Place them on a plate with a generous serving of dressing, and top with the stems and a scattering of reserved seeds. Voila. My current kale addiction.

Have a lovely week! xo.

Mandy - January 27, 2013 - 10:04 pm

The new site is really stunning! Congratulations!

Suzanne @RollWithIt - January 28, 2013 - 2:55 pm

Love the new look! Streamline and modern – nice and tight! And as always, beautiful photography!

Claire Johnson - January 28, 2013 - 4:47 pm

Wow! I love what you have done with the place!! it is very snazzy! and as always super jealous of your very mad talented photography skills! you go girl! 😉

Teresa - January 30, 2013 - 12:39 am

Yum! I love love love water sauteed kale. Thank you for the inspiration. I don’t use this technique enough. I wish I lived closer so I could participate in some of your events! It looks like you are having so much fun.

Kuwanna - February 7, 2013 - 12:08 pm

Beautiful site! I would love the combination of textures in this kale dish. I’d love to eat more kale and here’s another way to enjoy it. Thank you. :)

Shauna - February 11, 2013 - 10:10 pm

Hi Everyone- Happy to hear you like the new look… and the kale too!

Kuwanna- I’m all about textures! Hope you enjoy this dish.

Teresa- We DO have so much fun!! If you’re ever in Toronto make sure to let me know and we will make something fun happen.

lacinato kale » She Cooks Macro - September 9, 2013 - 10:25 am

[…] no secret that I adore kale. It’s delicious water sauteed with dressing, as pesto, and as light and crispy kale chips. So, when I recently picked up drawing again, it was […]

Lemon Maple Pecan Scones + A Winner!

Hello!

Wow- what a week and a bit it’s been!  Thanks to all who stopped by and left a comment- I just love to read them and see what you all have to say. Thank you! I’m looking forward to brewing a pot of tea and taking some time to sit down and respond properly to you all over the next few days.

Now. To these scones. They are delightful- and even more so because they are so very easy to make. The recipe included today is slightly adapted from the original in the book, which also included currants or raisins. Both are fine in my books, but the morning these scones were made, raisins just didn’t suit my mood. So, out they went, and in came some maple syrup  and water to make up for the loss of apple juice originally called for. Maple and pecans is just magic- add lemon and oooh…. Christmas morning is going to smell amazing in our little coach house.

And now for the winner……..

Congratulations, Claire!! I’ll be contacting you shortly via e-mail for a few details, and sending off your fab new Grains and Greens on the Deep Blue Sea Cookbook, this week! Enjoy!! And to everyone else, thank you again for all of your lovely comments, and don’t despair! I have another fun giveaway planned for the New Year- you won’t want to miss it!!

 

Karm - December 20, 2012 - 11:45 am

So many amazing recipes lately! Can’t wait to try them all . . . especially this one! I have deep love for scones :)

sandra - December 20, 2012 - 12:14 pm

Must try this, and the cheescake as well, both look delicious!
Congrats to Claire, she’s a sweetheart!
Wishing you happy Hollidays! :)

Kathi W - December 20, 2012 - 12:21 pm

Congrats to Claire! The photography for this post is so cute, I live the little bird!

The Dainty Pig - December 20, 2012 - 1:49 pm

yay, thanks! I’ve been wanting a macro-ified scone recipe forEVER. :)

Claire Johnson - December 20, 2012 - 7:09 pm

Wow!! This is so Exciting! I never win anything! Thank you so much! What fun!!
I am so Excited to try all these recipes!
And I definitely have to try these Scones!!

Mandy - December 20, 2012 - 9:54 pm

Scones!!! What a great idea for Christmas morning! Thank you for posting!

Sonya - December 23, 2012 - 5:59 am

Ill make these for christmas for sure!,

becky - February 8, 2013 - 1:38 pm

these look so amazing!!! you’ve inspired me to:
a. cook more
b. get prettier dishes on which to photograph my food lol.

i was wondering how you’d recommend making some of these delectable goodies gluten-free?

i’m sooo making these tomorrow morning :)

Shauna - February 11, 2013 - 10:05 pm

Hi Becky! Thanks for the super encouragement!! Oh the slippery slope of purchasing pretty dishes… soon they will invade every available nook and cranny!! I actually don’t do much gluten free baking, as I don’t bake very often and seem to tolerate gluten without any problems. I sometimes use a prepackaged GF flour mix… It’s something I am super curious to learn more about/practice more in my kitchen! I’ll keep you posted about any fun discoveries!

Lemon Tofu Cheesecake with Shortbread Crust

It’s Grains and Greens Giveaway Day Five!! Have you entered yet? Because this cookbook contains some seriously delish recipes. For instance, this Lemon Tofu Cheesecake.

Creamy, light, lemony, perfection. I’m in love.

Keeping it short today. There’s some last minute shopping to do, and gifts to wrap and send. So excited to start wrapping presents- it’s one of my favourite things about the season. Make sure to leave a comment on each of the posts from December 11th to today, and maybe you’ll receive a package in the mail too!! See you Thursday with one last recipe from the book, and of course, we’ll announce the winner as well!

Here’s the deets for this week’s giveaway-

You can enter more than once!!! Just leave ONE comment on each individual post this week. That’s up to five chances you have to win! You have until December 19th at 11:59 PM to leave an eligible comment.

I’ll mail the cookbook anywhere in the world, so even if you’re reading from Russia, Alaska, China or Japan, you too can have a taste of the tropics!

The winner will be picked by random and announced here on the blog on December 20th. You likely won’t receive the cookbook until after the holidays, but you should get it in time to start cooking up some delicious recipes in the New Year.

Kathi - December 18, 2012 - 4:27 pm

YUM!! shortbread crust! Looks like a great book!

Wendy - December 18, 2012 - 4:33 pm

Yum! This looks delicious! And I’ve got all the ingredients!

Suzanne @ RollWithIt - December 18, 2012 - 4:58 pm

Yet another post with beautiful photos! Thanks Shauna!

Olympia - December 18, 2012 - 8:57 pm

Looks fabulous! And I have been on the cruise but never bought the book yet! :)

Karin - December 18, 2012 - 9:37 pm

YUM! I can’t wait to try this! Mmmm….”cheesecake”. :)

Claire - December 19, 2012 - 1:25 am

Oh wow I think I just got a sudden craving for tofu cheese cake!! How do you take such wonderful food pictures!? It is so difficult for me to style food.

macromagician - December 19, 2012 - 11:33 am

There´s never enough tofu cheesecake recipes, thank yoooouu! 😀

Mandy - December 19, 2012 - 12:01 pm

Everything is ready to go into the oven!!! What temp?? The recipe was easy and a sneaky taste of the uncooked batter was delish!!!

Shauna - December 19, 2012 - 12:06 pm

Mandy!! Can’t believe I left that out!! EEK! 350˚F – I’m adding it into the printable recipe right now!!

The Dainty Pig - December 19, 2012 - 12:08 pm

this. looks. heavenly.
this will be made for sure over the holiday season.
thank you!

irene - December 19, 2012 - 2:00 pm

Looks Yummy! I know what I’m bringing for the Christmas potluck…

Sonya Langedijk - December 19, 2012 - 2:36 pm

Yum! Love lemon pies!!

Claire Johnson - December 19, 2012 - 2:54 pm

so beautiful and well done!!

Kuwanna - December 19, 2012 - 3:23 pm

Looks delicious!

Kuwanna - December 19, 2012 - 3:28 pm

I love the dinnerware too…so festive and completely appropriate for a yummy dessert!

Barbara - December 19, 2012 - 4:10 pm

Mmm. Wish I had a piece right now. Each of these recipes is on my must try list.

Arame Stuffed Mushrooms

Happy Friday! It’s Grains and Greens Giveaway Day Four! If you’re visiting the site for the first time, welcome! All the contest details are at the end of the post- and at the end of each qualifying post over the past week, starting on December 11th. Enjoy and Good luck.

Whoa. I can’t believe that I’ve been writing here for over a year and have not featured arame yet!! Craziness! Hubs and I LOVE arame, and eat it often. Like, a few times a week kind of often. If you haven’t cooked with it before, don’t be scared. Yes. It’s a seaweed. Think of it as a sea vegetable, and somehow it makes it easier to deal with- that and the whole being delicious part. Arame is wonderfully tasty and full of calcium, iron, magnesium and vitamin A- the good stuff.

Haha. the good stuff- no pun intended there!

I have made this recipe 3 times in the past two weeks. The second time for dinner guests- and so I made a few extra in hopes there would be leftovers. No such luck. They are that good. Not only would they pair nicely as part of a larger meal with yesterday’s noodles, these delectable bites are also perfection when served as appetizers. Plus, although the stuffed mushrooms look super fancy, the most time consuming part is removing the stems. Do that while the arame is cooking and you’re set. The rest is a breeze. Don’t say I didn’t warn you. Deliciousness awaits.

See you tomorrow for dessert!! *update* eek. It’s the 15th! Hubs and I are heading out to finish Christmas shopping, but we’ll be back with a delicious dessert on Monday the 17th. Tuesday the 18th (epic busy weekend!) It may or may not be definitely is a delicious vegan cheesecake… You still have until the 19th to leave a comment on each of the Giveaway posts for your chance to win!! Happy Weekend and see you Monday.

Here’s the deets for this week’s giveaway-

You can enter more than once!!! Just leave ONE comment on each individual post this week. That’s up to five chances you have to win! You have until December 19th at 11:59 PM to leave an eligible comment.

I’ll mail the cookbook anywhere in the world, so even if you’re reading from Russia, Alaska, China or Japan, you too can have a taste of the tropics!

The winner will be picked by random and announced here on the blog on December 20th. You likely won’t receive the cookbook until after the holidays, but you should get it in time to start cooking up some delicious recipes in the New Year.

Karin - December 14, 2012 - 1:13 pm

I can’t wait to eat these!!! Stuffed mushrooms are my favourite!

macromagician - December 14, 2012 - 1:25 pm

Wow, amazing recipe, looks so fancy! The walnuts definitely are part of the success I think.

Kathi - December 14, 2012 - 1:52 pm

Wow! looks like just the recipe to make me an arame convert! :)

sandra - December 14, 2012 - 2:04 pm

This shall make a great appetizer for the Holiday dinners!

Christine Kern - December 14, 2012 - 2:54 pm

OMG! They sound so good. I can’t wait to make them. Thanks.

Barbara - December 14, 2012 - 3:01 pm

Another winner!!

Claire Johnson - December 14, 2012 - 4:18 pm

looks amazing!!

Jana - December 14, 2012 - 5:17 pm

Wow! I should definitely try them. Thank you for a great recipe.

Chuck Lowery - December 15, 2012 - 8:18 pm

I’m afraid of mushrooms! However, they worked so well in your Shiitake Mushroom Gravy I’ll try to get over it. I see a new reason to move through the fear.

Suzanne @Roll With It - December 16, 2012 - 12:56 am

BOO! You make this look SOOO good, but my body does not do well with mushrooms. Where can you find arame?

Edit - December 17, 2012 - 9:24 am

my son love mushrooms, must try it for him, although I ‘m not mushroom lover :)

Mandy - December 17, 2012 - 12:30 pm

I can’t wait to make these! Well Done!

The Dainty Pig - December 19, 2012 - 12:09 pm

these look SO interesting. I’m always looking for new ways to try arame. thanks :)

Sonya - December 19, 2012 - 2:39 pm

Wonderfull wintersidedish! Great way to eat seaveggies!thnx!!!

Kuwanna - December 19, 2012 - 3:24 pm

Finally…a mushroom stuffed with something both healthy and delicious… Thank you!

patti - December 18, 2015 - 1:20 am

Never thought of stuffing with arame, always used the traditional breadcrumbs. This sounds like it will satisfy all tastes. My husband will be the tester, so here goes. Thanks for this great recipe.

Udon with Gingered Peanut Sauce

It’s Giveaway Day Three!!

Hubs and I usually eat pretty well. I can very happily say that as we’ve been cooking through the Grains and Greens on the Deep Blue Sea Cookbook this week, we’ve been eating exceptionally well. One of our favourites so far? Millet, Pecan and Watercress Salad -with orange zest- = out of this world. Sadly, there’s not enough days to post every single delicious item in the book (Arugula Salad with Smoked Tempeh and Ranch Dressing, I’m looking at you!!) so if you’re looking for a fab book that’s user friendly and has great recipes, pick this one up.

As we’re all deep into the craziness of the holiday season, I wanted to share something with you that is uber fast and easy, and can be made to suit a variety of dining situations. Serve these bad boys up as an appy, as part of a multi-course buffet meal, or as we did today, with the addition of fried tofu, steamed greens, quickly blanched julienned carrots and daikon, along with strips of nori to make a one bowl meal. Fast and easy. And of course, delicious too. Plus, they pair brilliantly with what’s in store for you tomorrow… See you then!!

Here’s the deets for this week’s giveaway-

You can enter more than once!!! Just leave ONE comment on each individual post this week. That’s up to five chances you have to win! You have until December 19th at 11:59 PM to leave an eligible comment.

I’ll mail the cookbook anywhere in the world, so even if you’re reading from Russia, Alaska, China or Japan, you too can have a taste of the tropics!

The winner will be picked by random and announced here on the blog on December 20th. You likely won’t receive the cookbook until after the holidays, but you should get it in time to start cooking up some delicious recipes in the New Year.

Kuwanna - December 13, 2012 - 1:39 pm

I love peanuts…peanut butter…peanut sauce… I’ve also been looking for a recipe to cook the udon noodles I just picked up. Excited to make this one!

Karin - December 13, 2012 - 1:40 pm

Being the Queen of one bowl meals, I LOVE this!

sandra - December 13, 2012 - 1:51 pm

I love udon and tofu! I’m drooling right now!

Tome - December 13, 2012 - 2:11 pm

Lovely! I love the photography. Looking forward to trying this myself.

Kathi W - December 13, 2012 - 2:19 pm

Gosh, all of these recipes that you’ve posted look so good! I sure hope to win the book!!

Joana - December 13, 2012 - 2:21 pm

Udon, ginger, and peanuts?!! delicious and definitly i’ll try it!

Nathalie - December 13, 2012 - 3:31 pm

Noodles, anytime, anywhere !

Hubs - December 13, 2012 - 4:06 pm

Sitting in my office, wishing I had more of this to eat right now!

Suzanne @ RollWithIt - December 13, 2012 - 5:23 pm

Yet another beautifully photographed post! Looks great!

Jana - December 13, 2012 - 6:03 pm

The ingredients look so colorful! I’d better try this recipe by my own. 😉

Irene Wong, - December 13, 2012 - 9:26 pm

I can just about taste it :-) I know what I’m having for lunch tomorrow!

macromagician - December 14, 2012 - 2:14 am

Ok, I definitely have to try this one, even if I have to go the extra step and find unshelled organic peanuts (seems like an impossible task here). I usually avoid them because of the aflatoxins, but they´re so yummy!! :)

Edit - December 14, 2012 - 3:36 am

nice pictures, I’ll go investigate whole your website :)

Chuck Lowery - December 14, 2012 - 10:40 am

Ignore the (excellent) photos. Get right to the recipe! Though I like peanuts, they don’t like me so I’ll be subbing almond butter.

The Dainty Pig - December 14, 2012 - 12:26 pm

oh me oh my. peanut anything is delicious, and this one looks like a perfect wintery meal. YUM!

Maureen - December 14, 2012 - 12:41 pm

This looks very different – on next week’s menu, for sure!

Barbara - December 14, 2012 - 3:04 pm

I love one bowl meals. Looks delish.

Claire Johnson - December 14, 2012 - 7:03 pm

Noodles I love udon Noodles!!

Ágnes - December 16, 2012 - 3:24 pm

Congratulations for your blog! I love your recipes and photos! So inspiring!

ENDANG UTARI - December 16, 2012 - 4:14 pm

SUPERB DISHES. EASY TO MAKE UDON WITH GINGERED PEANUT SAUCE

Mandy - December 17, 2012 - 12:33 pm

Noodle-y Goodness! I love the photo’s and this will be an excellent recipe for bringing meals to work!!

Sonya Langedijk - December 19, 2012 - 2:43 pm

The pictures said enough! I HAVE to try this!

Shari - December 19, 2012 - 9:27 pm

Is there a substitute for the peanut sauce?

Csilla - December 20, 2012 - 2:49 am

Wow it looks amazing, I will try it soon! Thanks for sharing this recipe. Regards from the Netherlads :)